Maryanne Coleman

scan0001 My real name is Carol Trow, but to prevent confusion between me and the other two writers in my family (M J and Taliesin) I decided to use a slightly altered version of my great-grandmother's name, as she was the very first listener to one of my stories. As was often the case when I was a child, older family members 'did the rounds' of adult children and any relation who could be talked into having them. I lived with my grandparents at the time and so my great grandmother and I were often together, although who was looking after whom is probably anyone's guess. She was a lovely soul, very gentle and quiet and apparently one day I was overheard telling her the end of a very long story; ... 'and so, they broke down the door of the house in the woods and there were the widow and all her fifteen children, dead on the floor.' I would imagine that this was delivered in a breathless whisper and as I was only three at the time with a mass of blonde curls and huge blue eyes it must have made an arresting spectacle. After a short pause, she just said, 'Well, I never.' She was a great audience and I have been telling stories pretty much ever since. Pandemonium is the first one I ever wrote down and I hope that when you read the sample – and hopefully after that, the whole thing – you will also say, at the very least, 'Well, I never'.